


What’s A Soulmate

by WhiteRosella



Series: Gleeful Saga [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Adopted Children, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Gen, Loss of Parent(s), Multi, Other, Parent Death, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Reverse Falls AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 11:04:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13293480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteRosella/pseuds/WhiteRosella
Summary: "I mean, when the world comes for your children, with the knives out, it's your job to stand in the way."Joe Hill, Horns------------------Reverse Falls{Young Mabel Gleeful x Fiddleford McGucket}[[Paternal References - NOT SHIPPING]]It has been some months since the terrible accident involving the parents of Mabel and Mason Gleeful has passed; as winter approaches and Christmas draws near, Fiddleford McGucket finds himself bonding with the young orphan girl and thus begins a kinship that cannot be broken.(Very cute oneshot exploring the relationship between reverse Fiddleford and young Mabel; based off a musically myself and fellow cosplayers duetted - also strong hints of Reverse Fiddauthor)





	What’s A Soulmate

"I mean, when the world comes for your children, with the knives out, it's your job to stand in the way."  
Joe Hill, Horns  
——————————▽———————————

The snow was thickening heavily on the perfectly moved lawns outside the huge stained glass window of Gleeful manor; there was an eerie yet peaceful silence throughout the enormous building late in the evening and Fiddleford merely stood with his arms crossed tightly at the window watching the snowflakes fall more rapidly; a heavy blizzard was coming and that meant he had to make plans for an eventuality they might get snowed in atop the town of Gravity Falls and cut off from civilisation.

Fiddleford had no worries about them making it through a dire winter if it were to become problematic; their larder was fully stocked, there was enough kindling stored out in the lodge on the grounds for warmth and if needed be Fiddleford wasn't adverse to making it through on foot to the town, he'd done it once before many years ago.

The thing that bothered Fiddleford the most was keeping the peace in the house; the Gleeful family were terrible to handle a great deal of the time -the elders of the family Filbrick and his wife now usually kept pretty much to themselves in the far wing of the manor however there had been many occurrences over the years of dangerously heated arguments with their sons, Stanford and Stanley, sometimes this had resulted in bloodshed and nearly even more severe outcomes.

Fiddleford had come to Gleeful manor to assist his college friend, Stanford Gleeful, in a project the man had been planning for some time after they graduated from West Coast tech; Fiddleford had graduated a year ahead of Stanford and was living in California with his young bride and infant son at the time of the call from Gleeful, the project had sounded compelling to his brilliant mind and with much reluctance he had left California and with it his old life behind temporarily.

Living at the manor and working on the portal project with Stanford had arisen some confusing and conflicting thoughts for the mechanic but he had learnt to suppress them well knowing there would be an end to them once the project was completed and he could return home however things had not gone to plan and the pair had gained more than they bargained for in the form of a blazing blue demon and a deal that had doomed them both eternally.

Pushing the thoughts of the past aside Fiddleford turned from the window and went to stoke the fire until it blazed more forcefully; the dining room was ready for the evening meal to take place and Fiddleford was always there first to make sure everything was just right, he didn't have to do it but if it meant a little peace between the family then he would do everything in his power to give himself piece of mind. The room, like all the others had been richly decorated for Christmas and a huge pine tree stood looming and glinting with its festive ornaments in the corner of the room; it was almost laughable that this family even celebrated such a close bonding holiday.

Fiddleford crouched on his haunches still holding the stoker and looking into the flames, his thoughts pored over his life back home in California, it seemed like a dream, as he rubbed his thumb around the gold band on the finger of his left hand. Fiddleford stood up and looked at the pictures on the mantle-shelf of the Gleeful family scanning until he found the one of his colleague in his graduation cap and gown, Stanford was smiling in that way that Fiddleford found intriguing and sinister at the same time with a look of defiance and determination in the man's eyes; Fiddleford had not noticed as he took the picture from the side to get a better look at the man he looked up to and secretly worshipped that the door to the room had silently opened and a young child had entered.

"God damn it." Fiddleford said under his breath as he put the picture back with annoyance and sighed turning to make haste away from his own conflicting thoughts but he was halted in his tracks suddenly and jerked back to reality as he took in the image of a small child stood looking up at him.

The child before him was the young Mabel Gleeful; a few months prior there had been a terrible accident involving their parents, luckily the children, two identical twins Mabel and Mason, had both survived the crash but their mother and father had died on impact and now the twins had been adopted by the Gleeful elders much to their dissatisfaction, they clearly had no time for the children after bringing up two very polar opposites of their own already.

Mabel was seven years old and the quieter of the twins; she stood with hands clasped behind her back slightly swaying to and fro with a little smile in the corner of her mouth and dazzling blue eyes that stared up at him with curiosity and interest; Fiddleford always found it a little unsettling the way she reminded him of Stanford sometimes but he could not deny compared to her brother he'd grown attached to the child. There had been many days over the past few months Fiddleford had had to break up fights between the twins, reminiscent of his interventions between Stanford and Stanley.

Mabel and Mason were both dealing with the loss of their parents in their own way and fighting was part of their coping with the grief; Mason would seclude himself in parts of the house, in window seats concealing himself within the thick heavy curtains with piles of books whilst Mabel was more adventurous and liked to explore the manor. The first interaction between himself and the child had been when she'd stumbled across his laboratory in the back of the manor next to the workshop, Fiddleford had been hesitant to let the child in at first but after realising the child was a curious force rather than a destructive one they had bonded quickly and he had found himself smiling that day in a way he had not done since holdinb his newborn son in California.

"You sneakin' up on me again." Fiddleford smirked putting his hands in his pockets and looking down at the little girl over his gold rimmed glasses with a fondness written on his face he couldn't hide. Mabel merely swayed a little more blinking up at him under dark lashes, her porcelain white face framed under a dark brown fringe and two ponytails tied with satin ribbon bows, she did not say anything but her eyes darted up and down and her smile grew a little wider.

"What are you doing?" Mabel asked coyly looking back up at her uncles assistant and bringing her little hands to her sides tugging at the hem of her skirt and then clasping her hands in front of her. The child was very sweet, she was almost doll like dressed in a white dress with a turquoise cardigan matching white tights and black patent strapped Mary Janes. Fiddleford had always wanted a daughter and though it was not at all his place to say he looked on he child as his adopted step nice though the Gleeful family would extradite him if they knew his thoughts.

"Well I was lookin' at pictures of your family." Fiddleford gestured up to the row of ornate frames and watched Mabel's keen eyes immediately darted up to them, she squinted up and looked away again with a little disappointment, obviously she couldn't see them and Fiddleford felt his heart almost drop at the thought, she wanted to see her patents; he looked up to the door and down at the child still looking down at her shoes and made a quick decision though he hoped they wouldn't be caught.

"Do you wanna see?" Fiddleford said slowly with a tender tone and watched as Mabel looked up quickly and smiled widely nodding and looking at him with those bright blue eyes; damn those Gleeful eyes, he could not deny them. "Come on then." Fiddleford grinned dipping down and holding open his arms, Mabel did not hesitate to move forward and wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her up and brought her close to the pictures.

Fiddleford held the child with care balanced on one arm as he walked his way across the fireplace pointing out the Gleeful family members as Mabel repeated their names with joy her laughter ringing through the room and filling him with a paternal joy he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Grandma, Grandpa" the names she used for Filbrick and his wife, "Uncle Stan!" She giggled as she took in the picture of his friends twin brother stood wearing biker leathers with a lopsided grin, "Me...Mason." Mabel said with a bit of a haughty look at her brother but then her eyes latched onto her parents stood dotingly behind the twins and she shoved her head in the space between Fiddleford's neck and shoulder and whispered "Mommy and...daddy..."

Fiddleford felt his heart go out to the child, Mabel was holding tightly onto her fathers hand in the picture looking so happy, now she was tightly wrapping her fingers into Fiddleford's own hair and slightly pulling in a painful way but he withstood it and gave her a gentle squeeze of affection and she squeezed him back tighter. Fiddleford slid away from the picture quickly to the one of Stanford and bounced his arm he was cradling her in, "Hey, hey, look, Mabel...who's this grumpy owl here?"

Fiddleford tilted his head and watch the child peer out from his shoulder and giggle then hide away again, "That's uncle's Ford."

"That's right, look how grumpy he looks here." Fiddleford took the picture off the shelf and held it close to her, Mabel pulled herself from Fiddleford's shoulder and took the picture in her hands laughing at it and then looking up at Fiddleford with her dazzling blue eyes again, the hurt was gone for now but he was sure he'd have more days ahead of him where he'd be wiping the child's tears and trying to get her mind off the thought of her her missing parents.

"He's always grumpy." Mabel said tilting her head at the picture and trying to copy Stanford's expression, it made Fiddleford laugh and then Mabel started laughing as well, "Grumpy owl." Mabel chirped several times trying to make the man laugh more and it was working, she loved it. "Where's uncle Fidd?" Mabel asked looking at the fireplace for a picture of him, she couldn't say his name properly so she had always shortened it.

Fiddleford's laughter dwindled and left him with just a smile on his face, "I'm not part of the family Mabel, you know that." Fiddleford didn't feel sad, the fact Mabel had called him uncle had filled him with sheer joy, it was like holding his own child in his arms and the happiness he felt in this moment was unsurmountable, he wished he could stay in this moment. "I'm just a friend of the family darlin', always have been, always will be." Fiddleford took the picture of Stanford and put it back on the mantle still holding the little girl and walking over to the Christmas tree so she could look at the decorations usually out of her reach to distract her.

"A friend." Mabel said tapping one of the blue baubles so it swung backwards and forwards entrancing her, "But why are you always with uncle Ford?" She asked suddenly turning back to Fiddleford and curling her fingers in his hair at the nape of his neck, "Like mommy and daddy...and grandma and grandpa."

Fiddleford was a little taken aback by the child's perception, she was unusually bright for her age despite being so ignored by the entire family in wake of a new future heir, her brother Mason. Mabel was overlooked quite frequently due to her quiet nature but Fiddleford saw an intelligence in those eyes that might one day match his own with the proper guidance and care. Still, Mabel's words had hit him like a ton of bricks, if a child could see it then what could the others see? Or was this just a child's eyes, pure and innocent picking up on Fiddleford's internal conflict showing in his eyes.

"Your mommy and daddy were soulmates child." Fiddleford said taking the child over to the window away from the tree so that they could both look out onto the snow falling on the ground, "Stanford and I are best friends." He explained as carefully as he could but the child's eyes just grew more curious and she looked more like Stanford than ever with those questioning eyes boring into him and exposing him much like that man's did.

"What's a soulmate?" Mabel said with a tired sigh leaning her head into Fiddleford shoulder again and tracing patterns in the condensation on the window. They stood together quietly for a moment, locked in a bubble of thoughtfulness before Fiddleford found the right words.

"It's...well..." Fiddleford paused trying not to think about him, "Its like a best friend but more, it's the one person in the world that knows you better than anyone else. Someone who makes you a better person." It was hard not to think of him but it couldn't be helped, he was always on his mind and the cause of his internal conflict, should he stay here or go home now that things had changed.

Mabel nodded still curling her fingers in his hair, it was comforting, they were both isolated and alone together here in this house, both not fitting in very well and making the most of their situations. Fiddleford gave Mabel a tight squeeze and she squeezed back without hesitation; Fiddleford kissed the top of her head gently then rested his head on top of hers and they both looked out onto the snow lining the grounds outside.

"I want a soulmate one day uncle Fidd." Mabel whispered.

"I'm sure you already have one waiting out there for you sweetheart." Fiddleford said looking at the patterns of hearts and triangles she's traced in the steam of the stained glass, he closed his eyes and held onto this precious moment for as long as he could, after all it would soon be interrupted by the unruly family and affectionate moments like this were few and far between in this house.

"I think you have one too." Mabel said reaching out her hand to the glass and tracing the letter 'F' on the glass.

Fiddleford swallowed back a hard lump in his throat and felt a tear roll down his face which he quickly wiped away as he heard the familiar parade of footsteps coming down from somewhere deep in the manor; Fiddleford gave the girl a final tight embrace, quick kiss on the forehead and Mabel released as well knowing their current time together was at an end, he put her down gently and looked at the beautiful child beaming up at him with a slight glint of her own tears still apparent in those blue eyes.

"Listen to me Mabel," Fiddleford dipped to one knee in front of her, "I'll make sure you find your soulmate, I'll make sure you're happy again." Fiddleford brushed a rogue tear that escaped from her eye off her cheek and she smiled weakly and he could see that longing to be loved in her eyes that matched his own, "I'll protect you." Fiddleford said looking into her blue eyes.

"Like my knight?" Mabel smiled coyly again wringing her hands in the hem of her skirt.

"With my life, ma Lady." Fiddleford put his hand over his heart giving her a confident smile and a quick bow to her as she giggled and put her hands over her mouth with flushed cheeks but then much to his surprise she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his neck holding on tightly.

"I love you uncle Fidd." Mabel cried, "Please don't leave."

Fiddleford quickly embraced the child back and hugged her trying to enforce the idea she was worth something, that she was wanted and needed, "I love you to my dear Mabel, I won't leave you, I promise I'll stay by your side...always."

The moment lasted for what seemed like forever, Mabel had what she wanted, love and protection and Fiddleford had what he wanted love and someone who needed him. Though now it was apparent, Mabel's words had echoed the ones he longed to hear from him, there was no way he could ever leave this place, his internal conflict was over and he had made his decision.

With the fleeting thought of his old life dimming from his view he embraced the child, his new life and new family, he would protect them all with his life, no matter what happened to him in the end.

The Gleeful's would never be without their knight.


End file.
